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Apply for a Scholarship

California Lutheran University Financial Planning Scholarship

 

About the Scholarship

The California Lutheran University Financial Planning Scholarship program was established jointly by the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning and California Lutheran University in an effort to develop a more diverse and sustainable financial planner workforce, including increasing the number of CFP® professionals from populations that are currently underrepresented in the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race and ethnicity.

The program offers scholarships to qualified individuals seeking to complete California Lutheran University's online Master of Business Administration (MBA) or online Master of Science (MS) degree in Financial Planning, both of which qualify candidates to sit for the CFP® certification exam.

To qualify for the scholarship, applicants must apply and be admitted to either California Lutheran University’s online MBA or online MS degree in Financial Planning, and undergo an application process administered by the Center for Financial Planning. California Lutheran University will waive the admission application fee for all scholarship applicants. Visit California Lutheran University's website to apply for the MBA or MS degree in Financial Planning and indicate your acceptance into the program in the scholarship application form below. An admission decision usually takes 3-5 days from submission of all application requirements. Contact Monica Gascon at mgascon@callutheran.edu or (805) 493-3963 to waive the admission application fee.

The scholarship awards $5,000 for those pursuing California Lutheran University's MBA in Financial Planning and $3,500 for those pursuing California Lutheran University's MS in Financial Planning:

  • 50% of the scholarship award will be provided upon enrollment in California Lutheran University's MBA or MS in Financial Planning Program. Applicants have 30 days from the date of their award notification to register and take a class in California Lutheran University's MBA or MS in Financial Planning Program.
  • 50% of the scholarship funds will be provided after the scholarship recipient has completed eight CFP® certification core courses toward their graduate degree in California Lutheran University's MBA or MS in Financial Planning Program and registered for the CFP® certification exam.

Awardees will also receive a complimentary registration to attend one Academic Research Colloquium for Financial Planning and Related Disciplines.

eligibility REQUIREMENTS

  • Must not be a prior recipient of a CFP Board Center for Financial Planning scholarship.
  • Must be legally able to work in the U.S..
  • Must enroll in the California Lutheran MBA or MS in Financial Planning Program and take a class within 30 days of scholarship award notification.
  • Must have an Undergraduate Degree from an accredited college or university.
  • Must demonstrate a financial need AND/OR be from underrepresented populations within the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. Women of color will be strongly encouraged to apply.
  • Applicants are not able to transfer courses from other universities.

Applicants who are selected to proceed to the final round of the application review process will be required to pass a background check conducted by CFP Board.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Please note that applications will only be accepted through this webpage. Please do not attempt to submit application materials via email, mail or fax.

When submitting application essays and materials, please pay close attention to spelling and grammar, as that will be factored into the grading process.

AWARD PROCESS

Scholarship awards will be disbursed in two equal installments. To receive the first installment, recipients must demonstrate proof of enrollment in the California Lutheran MBA or MS in Financial Planning Program and take a class within 30 days of scholarship award notification. The second installment will be awarded when the awardee is half-way through the program.

application DEadline

 The application window will be open until April 2, 2023. 

Award decision

Scholarship applicants will be notified of the award decision via email in May 2023. If you have a question about the status of your application, please contact us at scholarships@cfpboard.org.

Application Form

IMPORTANT: You must complete the prerequisite step BEFORE submitting the application. Your application will be ineligible if you submit it without completing the prerequisite step.

PREREQUISITE STEP: Enroll to either California Lutheran University’s online MBA or online MS degree in Financial Planning

To qualify for the scholarship, you must apply and be admitted to either California Lutheran University’s online MBA or online MS degree in Financial Planning. Visit California Lutheran University's website to apply. You must confirm that you have been admitted before proceeding with Step 2 of the application.

Please enter your admitted California Lutheran University ID or admission reference number.

STEP 2: Complete the rest of the application after enrolling into the program. Here, you will need to submit some of the same documents you submitted during enrollment.

CFP Board Account Number (if you don’t have a CFP Board account, click here to create one)

Important: Be sure your CFP Board account includes: 1) your date of birth, and 2) the last four digits of your social security number. Not having this information may delay your application and disqualify you from the scholarship.

Ethnicity (select all that apply):
Gender

Please answer the following essay questions and upload your responses in a single document.

1. Why do you want to be in the financial planning profession? How would an MBA/MS in Financial Planning help you achieve that? (500 – 1,000 words)

2. Please indicate how you meet the eligibility requirements for this scholarship, including demonstrating your financial need in detail AND/OR eligibility in terms of belonging to an underrepresented population within the financial planning profession in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. (250 – 500 words)

Which California Lutheran University program do you plan to attend?

I acknowledge that if I am selected as a finalist for a scholarship award:

CFP Board will evaluate scholarship applicants against the Fitness Standards that apply to those who are applying for CFP® certification (https://www.cfp.net/get-certified/certification-process/ethics-requirement/fitness-standards). CFP Board will review the scholarship applicant’s background pursuant to the same process that CFP Board reviews applications for CFP® certification. If CFP Board discovers information that would subject the scholarship applicant to an investigation if the scholarship applicant were an applicant for CFP® certification, then CFP Board will deny the scholarship application. The fact that an individual receives a scholarship does not guarantee that the individual will satisfy CFP Board’s Fitness Standards when the individual later applies for CFP® certification.

Important: Be sure your CFP Board account includes: 1) your date of birth and 2) the last four digits of your social security number. Not having this information may delay your application and disqualify you from the scholarship.

Laura Lee
2021 Scholarship Recipient

The scholarship is part of making my plan come to fruition so that I can go back to grad school. It's a joy and I can't wait to tell my kids why I did it and the should do the same one day to pursue education.